The Israeli six-year-old who was the sole survivor of a horrific Alpine cable car crash has been abducted from Italy by his grandfather and taken to Israel, according to claims in the Italian press.

Eitan Biran, whose parents, great-grandparents and younger brother were all killed when a cable snapped and their cabin plunged into the side of a mountain near Lake Maggiore in May, has been the subject of a bitter custody battle between the Italian and Israeli sides of his family.

On being released from hospital in June, Eitan was placed in the care of his aunt his paternal aunt, Aya Biran-Nirko, who lives in the northern Italian town of Pavia with her husband and two daughters.  

However, Eitan’s maternal aunt, Gali Peleg, who is Israeli,  told the Times that she feared the boy would lose his Jewish identity in Italy and accused Biran-Nirko and her family of abducting him. 

Now La Repubblica has reported that Eitan's maternal grandfather, Shmulik Peleg, travelled to Pavia to see Eitan for a day visit last week but failed to return him to his Italian guardians in the evening.

According to the newspaper, Mr Peleg then severed contact with the Italian family, aside from a text message that said, "Eitan is back home”.

"We are upset and incredulous that they have gone this far," Armando Sibari, the lawyer for the Italian side of Eitan's family, told La Repubblica.

"He was literally torn away in an international kidnapping from the family that had been identified by the judge as the most suitable for him to grow up with because it was the one he had always seen daily. We are very worried about the trauma that this act risks causing him," Mr Sibari added.

Eitan suffered severe injuries in the cable car crash but was saved by his father, Amit, 30, who used his own body to cushion his son’s fall.

He was placed in a medically induced coma but regained consciousness after several days and eventually made a full recovery.